Carter stays confident with 2 homers, including grand slam

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Wyatt Langford has been stealing all the headlines lately, and for good reason -- the Rangers’ No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 prospect overall has already launched three home runs this spring, including two last Saturday against the White Sox.

Langford has a real chance to make Texas’ Opening Day roster, less than a year after being selected fourth overall in the MLB Draft. The sight of him in a Rangers uniform on March 28 is a scintillating prospect.

But another scintillating prospect reminded us on Tuesday that Langford isn’t the only exciting young player whom the Rangers plan to have in their lineup for years to come. With a pair of homers, including a second-inning grand slam, Evan Carter jump-started the scoring early in a 10-9 win over the Mariners at Peoria Sports Complex.

Carter smashed the third pitch of the game from right-hander Logan Gilbert over the wall in right-center field to give the Rangers a quick 1-0 lead. In the second, he deposited another one onto the berm in right-center off Gilbert, this time with the bases loaded. Carter even added a nice defensive play at the wall in left field for good measure.

With the pair of long balls, Carter has a .389 batting average and a 1.178 OPS in 20 Cactus League plate appearances.

“You definitely don’t want to let hittable pitches go by,” Carter said. “So just being ready to go in a moment’s notice right there.”

A “moment’s notice” is a good way to describe Carter’s rapid rise. He made his MLB debut last September and posted a 1.058 OPS with five homers in 23 games down the stretch before setting a postseason record with nine doubles.

Following that up with a strong open to Spring Training, Carter has tasted nothing but success so far as a big leaguer, and he’ll be receiving a World Series ring next month after being a key contributor to Texas’ first championship. It’s what Carter did for the Rangers last fall that has them utterly unsurprised by his red-hot start this spring.

“We don’t [need to] take from early in Spring Training,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We take from last year, the highlights from when he came up. … He’s even gotten stronger over the winter -- he put on a little bit of weight. He’s a fun guy to watch.”

Does last year’s successful debut breed confidence that carries over to 2024? For Carter, confidence is a familiar companion, and it’s only grown since he reached the Majors.

“You know, I try to be a confident person, and it’s really cool that the teammates I have in the locker room have really helped me build on the confidence I already have,” Carter said. “It’s really easy to be confident when you have people like that around you.”

Despite only having about a month of MLB experience to his name, not to mention being nearly a year younger than Langford, Carter may already be serving in that role for him. Carter is the club’s No. 1 prospect. Langford is No. 2. Carter is the No. 5 overall prospect in the game. Langford is No. 6. They hit in the same batting practice group. They’ve been in the same outfield group.

And they may be a fearsome 1-2 punch of the future for the Rangers.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say we’re like, pushing or competing or whatnot,” Carter said. “It’s just one of those things where I’m trying to be the best that I can be, and he is, too.”

Of course, things don’t always go as well as they have for the youthful duo in the first couple of weeks of Spring Training.

“Baseball’s a humbling sport,” Carter said. “So you’ve gotta move on to tomorrow.”

Tomorrow is looking pretty good for the Rangers today.

Adolis could DH on Wednesday
American League Championship Series MVP and World Series hero Adolis García got some plate appearances in a “B” game on a back field at the Rangers’ complex in Surprise on Tuesday morning. He looked ready, singling on the first pitch he saw from Royals starter Jordan Lyles.

Texas has been working García in slowly this spring after he experienced an oblique strain during the World Series. Bochy said that García will likely serve as the designated hitter in Wednesday’s Cactus League matchup with the Rockies in Scottsdale, which would mark his first Cactus League action this year.